White sugar futures on ICE fell to the lowest level in more than two years on Tuesday as a global supply glut pressured prices. Cocoa turned lower while coffee also fell, with arabica weakening on the prospect of a huge Brazilian crop this year.
March white sugar settled down 90 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $352 per tonne after dipping to $351.20, the weakest level for the front month since September 2015. Dealers said the failure to sustain Monday's rebound heightened the bearish mood while producer selling limited the scope of any rebound.
"I think they (producers) will be capping any rally," one dealer said, adding that the ceiling for prices was about $360 to $365 on whites and 13.50 to 13.75 cents per lb on raws. The supply of whites has been boosted partly by a sharp rise in production in the European Union.
March raw sugar settled up 0.02 cent, or 0.2 percent, at 13.19 cents per lb. Total open interest rose by 9,319 lots to 896,809 lots, the highest since September 2016, ICE data showed.
March London cocoa settled down 6 pounds, or 0.44 percent, at 1,364 pounds per tonne. Dealers said there continued to be tentative signs that demand is picking up, with the fourth-quarter Asia grind rising 4.2 percent year on year and the European grind climbing by 4.4 percent.
Dealers were awaiting sales data from chocolate maker Barry Callebaut, expected to be issued on Wednesday, for further indications on demand trends. March New York cocoa settled down $9, or 0.5 percent, at $1,929 per tonne.
March arabica coffee settled down 1.6 cents, or 1.3 percent, at $1.2095 per lb. Dealers said the outlook for the crop in top producer Brazil remained favorable, with a record harvest possible this year.
"There are reports of short crops in parts of Central America and some areas in South America due to the lack of farmer investment from the low prices," said Jack Scoville, a vice president with Price Futures Group in Chicago. "However, Honduras has been a very active exporter and appears to be in position to make up the difference in exports from reduced offers in the rest of Central America and Colombia," Scoville said.
March robusta coffee settled down $18, or 1 percent, at $1,749 per tonne.